At Blackbeard's Family Entertainment Center Tuesday evening, there was still plenty of sun -- making conditions perfect for a quick spin. "We painted yesterday because we had more sunlight and today we came out to play miniature golf because the weather was nice and we had extra time between now and dinner," said Kristie Leyba of Fresno.
Managers at Blackbeard's told Action News March's warmer weather marks the beginning of their busiest time of year. "It definitely helps business. People see good weather and they want to come out as opposed to when it's raining and people want to stay at home," said manager Pricilla Tovar.
The same can be said for business at Lowe's in North Fresno. There, the changing weather drives sales in the nursery and lawn care departments. The extra daylight helps, too. "What you'll see is you'll see people shopping later in the day. And it makes for a long shopping day here at Lowe's… it works pretty good," said manager Dale Delmanowski.
Another impact of the changing weather: patio dining. At Dai Bai Dang at River Park, several people could be seen taking advantage of the nice evening with an Asian dinner al fresco. "The rush will be later until people's bodies become accustomed to the time change… so we'll keep the staff on a little later," said Brandon Smith.
While that extra hour may be good for some businesses, there is also growing opposition to Daylight Saving Time. To date, more than 24,000 people have signed a petition on a White House website asking the Obama administration to end what they call an archaic practice that doesn't amount to real energy savings.
